8 minute read
Inderjit Singh
KARMA: What Goes Around Comes Around
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Inderjit Singh
Dawn of a New Year!
A new beginning!
Time for New Resolutions? The resolutions, as always, with finite longevity; those more often than not, do not last for very long?
No, not anymore! Not for me at least!
I have made my firm resolution to make no more resolutions, the repetitive finite resolutions year-after-year; of losing weight, quitting smoking, regulating intake of alcoholic drinks, or visiting a few places on my bucket list. For this reason and only for this reason; I am instead going to chase a more permanent, an infinite, life-long mission of self-actualization, improved mental health growth, better inter-personal relationships, enhanced quest for learning, a right work-life balance vis-à-vis the mundane. I dare to take this challenge, basically to come out of my comfort zone and do not go where the well-trodden path may lead me to, but go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
I see all this and more possible in embracing and embarking on the path of the universal law of Karma. I invite you to join me in my pursuit of self-development and let us together reinvent ourselves in finding the purpose of our lives and in the process contribute our bit in making this world a better place to live. I however, emphasize here on the need to live and not merely exist.
Karma Decoded:
To me, Karma is like a boomerang; whatever you give out, will come back to you. A boomerang returns back to the person that throws it.
Simply put, Karma is the universal law of “cause and effect” implying “what goes around comes around”. It’s also consistent with the Newton’s third law of motion: “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Before you act, you have the freedom; but after you act, the effect of that action will follow you whether you want it to or not.
The all-encompassing law of Karma, thousands of years old is a concept that essentially no world religion misses. The ‘Golden Rule’ maxim “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” resonates with expressions those can be prominently found in the tenets of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and the rest of the world's religions and creeds through the ages. As part of the 1993 "Declaration Toward a Global Ethic", 143 leaders of the world's major faiths endorsed the Golden Rule. In essence, “You will never understand the damage you did to someone until the same thing is done to you. That’s why I am here”. – Karma
The “New Age” Karma
The phenomenon has resounded in many formats; in the songs ‘Karma’ by Alicia Keys and Culture Club-Karma Chameleon by Boy George, lyrics of the title of a Justin Timberlake hit, the book by Eddie Stone, or simply words said sagely by a friend.
The origin and the idea of these phrases have been around for centuries. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, there is the phrase “as you sow, you shall reap” which is a similar idea to ‘what goes around comes around’. These notions may have different connotations and interpretations in different religions and sects of the world but surely, there has been no doubt on the essence of the phenomenon and their commonality with the law of Karma.
The "New Age" movement has rightly adopted this belief of Karma and Hollywood has produced movies and television shows embracing this belief. With this belief, it is the actions of the individual, whether good or bad that determines one’s eternal destiny.
Wayne Dyer an internationally renowned American author and motivational speaker in the field of self-development authentically sums up the concept of Karma in his quote “How people treat you is their Karma; how you react is yours”. He has written more than 40 books on related topics, twenty-one of them NYT bestsellers.
In a fast-paced environment, such as a place of work, considering someone else’s thoughts and feelings before we ‘act’, can easily get overlooked for prioritizing results and getting the job done. And why should this matter if we are constantly producing cracking results? It matters! When it comes to karma in the workplace, even the smallest of things matter. From our body language to our tone of voice, our expressions; both written and verbal. The way we conduct ourselves can have a huge impact on work relationships and getting the job done.D
o we sometimes wonder how and why we get connected, and more importantly remain connected, though far away from one-another? The so-called chance meetings in life are actually the result of Karma. Even in the smallest events there’s no such thing as coincidence. My favorite author Richard Bach in his book titled “Nothing by Chance” has amply established this fact.
The most common misconception among some people have is that Karma and fate are the same things. However, that is simply not true. Karma is just a way to bring balance by rewarding or punishing an individual, it is not fate decided by another-worldly being. Just because we have done something bad does not mean something bad will happen to us to maintain a balance. Karma can instead be defined as the driving force that governs the spiritual realm. It affects our lives by making us accountable for any action, in addition to our intention while taking that action. It is said to be guiding energy which is the end product of deliberate action and intention. Our lives will be affected by the energy we give off right now and in the future. Karma scarcely has anything to do with punishing or rewarding people, and we cannot have complete control over it.
My Take:
Karma is real and the leaders in their work environment in particular, need to pay special attention to theirs. Karma is about being given the opportunity to change your vibration and energy and attract something different. The universe will decide and give us what we need and when we need it - nothing more or less. I believe that we get what we deserve and not necessarily what we desire. Karma is not punishment, it’s not revenges, it’s not justice. Karma is the universe giving you opportunities to transform your vibration and simply show up and lead.
There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the four things we crave most in life – kindness, happiness, freedom, and peace of mind are always attained by giving them to someone else. Your believing or not believing in this philosophy has no effect on its existence or acceptance, nor on its consequences to you. Just as a refusal to believe in the ocean would not prevent one from drowning.
The Last Word:
Whether we look at our actions through the law of karma, the Newton’s law, or the Golden Rule, the conclusion becomes very clear. All of these immutable laws tell us that we should be very considerate and mindful of our actions because they always have consequences. In a sense, we create our own happiness, misery, or our hell and heaven.
Kindness is the ultimate Karma. Whether you approach this principle in a religious frame of mind, or simply as a rule to remind yourself to be kind and considerate in all of your deeds, there is no denying that it is an idea that helps us to be kinder, more peaceful and more environmentally friendly at every moment in our lives. This in short is the law of Karma.
Know the Author
Inderjit Singh is an Aviation Consultant with the ICAO, Montreal, Canada, a specialized agency in the United Nations system of organizations. He has served in senior level diplomatic positions in several countries of Asia, South-East Asia, Middle-East, Africa and South America. He was the CEO of IGI Airport – the 18th busiest in the world. He is an MBA, followed by advanced management courses at “Henley-the Management College”, Oxford shire, UK, and the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Inderjit has earned Doctorate of Philosophy in International Diplomacy from a renowned Brazilian institution of higher learning.
